After Party
by Soul Stealer 2K4
Summary: A follow-up to my previous Ninjago fanfic, where I will post all stories (one shot, two shot, multi chapter etc) in the aftermath of the events of "Wonderful Christmastime". Cuteness and action abound in this next installment! Stay tuned!
1. The Date - Part 1

Hi all! Welcome to the follow up to Wonderful Christmastime; After Party! Here I will post stories that take place after the events of my previous fanfic. One shots, two shots, multiple chapter ventures etc. will all be posted here for your amusement!

This chapter is set immediately after the previous fanfic, wherein Jasper finally finds the right room where Cole is staying! Part one of two, with the next chapter to follow shortly after this one :)

Enjoy!

* * *

Jasper stood in front of the door marked 93 and took a deep breath. She reached out to knock, but paused for a moment. Why was she so nervous? It's not like Cole wasn't expecting her to be here, he purposely invited her to spend the day with him – albeit at 5am this morning – and what he was doing being awake at such an ungodly hour she didn't care to know. What she _did_ know is that he asked her to join him for what she really hoped was an actual date.

_Come on, stop being such a wimp!_

She pulled a compact mirror from her cross body bag and checked her high half-ponytail; not a strand out of place, thank goodness. Her foundation and purple-tinted lip gloss were also still miraculously flawless – thanks in part to her sister Ruby, who despite her background in textiles, was evidently very talented with a make-up brush. She returned the compact to her bag and eventually got up the nerve to knock on the door. When the door opened, however, she almost fainted.

"Oh, hey Jasper!" Cole smiled at her as he stood in the doorway, completely shirtless and drying his hair with a towel. "I'm nearly ready, if you wanna come in for a minute."

Jasper bowed and entered the room, as Cole closed the door behind her.

"Just gotta put on a shirt," He assured. "then we can head out."

"O-okay." She stammered.

Cole retreated to the bathroom and Jasper grabbed her mirror once more to make sure she didn't have a nose-bleed. Luckily there was no blood, but her cheeks were bright red, and she suddenly felt very overheated - not surprising, given that she just got an eyeful of Cole's sculpted torso. She knew he was a ninja, but she had no idea he was so… _powerfully_ built. As she sat on the edge of the bed to try and cool off, she glanced around. Judging from how haphazardly he had strewn his clothes about the room, he was obviously not a stickler for neatness. Not that it bothered her, she was hardly a domestic goddess herself – Ruby was forever nagging her about it though. Sure, she managed to keep the rest of her apartment clean, but it was obvious to anyone who saw her bedroom that she'd never entertained a gentleman caller there.

"C'mon, let's go." Cole smiled.

Jasper was in such a deep daze that she hadn't notice him come out of the bathroom, now fully dressed. She smiled and stood up, eagerly following him as they exited the hotel room and walked toward the elevator.

"You find the place okay?" He asked.

"Yes, though I had a bit of trouble finding your room," She sheepishly admitted. "I wrote the number in such a hurry that I got the numbers mixed up."

"Never mind, you found me, that's the important part." He chuckled.

"Indeed…" She purred as they got in the elevator and headed down.

"I hope you didn't mind me messaging you so early," Cole mentioned as the door opened onto lobby and he politely gestured for her to go first. "I had so much fun at the gala that I couldn't sleep."

"Oh it's no trouble, it was around the time I usually get up anyway," Jasper insisted as they glided past the reception desk and out the main doors. "and I was hoping you'd get in touch before you went home."

"We don't get to come to New Ninjago very often, and I thought maybe you could show me around your favourite places."

"Unfortunately, my favourite places are not very exciting." She nervously played with the zipper on her bag.

"You're exciting enough on your own," He beamed as the once receding blush on her face returned with full force. "just take me where you like to go."

"Well, alright," she smiled sweetly. "follow me."

Jasper led him to a little corner store a few blocks away from the hotel. He glanced up at the sign – the words 'French Fancy' were written in purple and black glitter – and wondered what he was walking into. The windows were obscured by curtains, and the door had a purple pawprint painted on it. He soon realised it was one of those niche animal cafés, as they walked in the door and were met by a cheerful woman sitting at a reception desk. She had long silver hair, black-rimmed half-moon glasses and stood up to greet them, smiling joyfully.

"Jasper, darling, it's been too long! We've missed you!" She bowed and smiled at Jasper, reaching out to touch her forearm.

"Thanks, auntie M," Jasper replied. "I missed you too, but I was busy practicing for the winter dance, you see."

"Of course, I forgot how busy you are this time of year," She paused and gasped. "that reminds me, there was something in the papers this morning about a wedding that happened at the gala! Is it true?"

"Yes, Mr Borg's daughter got married," Jasper nodded. "oh it was beautiful."

"So exciting!" Auntie M squeaked, when suddenly she noticed Cole standing quietly beside Jasper. "Oh, and who's this? A boyfriend at last!"

"This is Cole, he and the other elemental ninja were in town for the wedding," Jasper blushed furiously. "I met him when he came to the department store."

"Oh? …Oh! Mr Earth Ninja! I'm so sorry I didn't recognise you sooner," Kerensa bowed to him. "I am Maria, welcome to my humble establishment."

"Nice to meet you." Cole beamed.

"Please, take a seat and order whatever you like; it's on me today." Maria offered.

"Thank you." Jasper gave a small bow.

They breezed through a velvet curtain and into what looked like a normal café; it was a well-lit area with booth seats, a sparkling wooden floor and chill-out music lightly playing over the speakers. Perhaps the only difference, was that while the customers enjoyed their snacks and drinks, they also had the company of a little dog. There was a pug and a couple of frenchies that he could see, but judging by the sound of barking that came from a penned off area at the back, there were at least a couple more. A young man staffing the dessert counter waved them both over.

"Jasper!" He grinned. "Over here!"

"Phoenix!" Jasper squeaked as she approached him. "How have you been?"

"Good, thanks, a bit tired after last night, like." He admitted.

"The usual New Year's do at the student's guild?" She chuckled.

"Yeah, didn't get to bed until gone 4am."

"No wonder you look so tired!" Jasper turned to Cole. "Cole, this is Phoenix; Phoenix, this is Cole."

Cole was frozen in place – Phoenix was the mirror image of Zane before he was rebuilt; blue eyes, white-ish hair, genial smile. The only difference was a jagged scar going from the top of his forehead, across his left eye and ending just at his cheek. Jasper gave Cole a gentle nudge on the shoulder. Cole shook himself of his daze and smiled politely at him.

"Sorry about that, you look like a friend of mine," He sheepishly grinned. "nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, I recognise you from the photos." Phoenix smiled.

"Photos? What photos?" Jasper wondered.

"These photos," Phoenix pulled his smartphone out of his pocket and pressed a few buttons, before handing it to Jasper. "they were posted on the official Borg Industries blog this morning."

As she flicked through the pictures, she was reminded of the amazing time she'd had at the gala. There were some photos of the wedding ceremony, the winter dance, various delegates and staff members dancing, the newlyweds… suddenly she came across a photo of her and Cole together. They had their arms around each other, with Jasper winking and Cole caught mid-laugh. They looked so relaxed and happy; it was a perfect visual representation of how Cole made her feel.

"You gotta send me this one!" Cole insisted, beaming at Phoenix. "Ooh, and some of that red velvet cake too, please."

"Sure thing," Phoenix smiled as he plated a slice of cake and handed it to Cole. "Jasper, want the usual?"

"Oh, yes please." She gave Phoenix his phone back and received a piece of black forest gateaux.

Jasper and Cole seated themselves in a nearby booth, and while Cole happily dug into his cake, Jasper was making a mental note to contact the photographers to see what other pictures they got of her and Cole together.

"You look really cute in that photo." Cole stated.

"Why thank you…" Jasper murmured, blushing furiously at such favourable comments. "you look rather handsome yourself."

"I don't normally photograph well, it must be because you're in the picture too; you're so photogenic that it rubbed off on me." Cole grinned.

"You flatter me too much." Jasper sheepishly looked away with a shy smile, her cheeks still burning.

"I call it how I see it," Cole humbly shrugged. "you're beautiful; no doubt about it."

He seemed completely unaware of what he'd said, as he hadn't noticed that her face was now redder than the cake he was eating. She nervously prodded at the gateaux, slowly pulling it apart with her fork while being too embarrassed to actually eat it.

"Hey there," Cole said, picking up a French bulldog that had wandered over to them and placing it next to him. "want some?"

He pulled off a little chunk of what was left of his cake and gave it to the dog, which happily ate the sweet morsel offered to it. Cole looked at the nametag on the dog's collar.

"Sugar; interesting name for a dog." He mused.

"Did you say Sugar?" Jasper snapped out of her stupor when Cole mentioned the name.

She glanced over at the little black Frenchie sitting beside him and gasped. Immediately, she stood up and reached over to pick the dog up, and promptly gave it a big cuddle. Cole was mildly confused to say the least, as Jasper grinned widely and enthusiastically snuggled the dog.

"This one means a lot to you, huh?" Cole wondered.

"She was the runt of her litter, and the last time I was here she wasn't doing so good." Jasper explained as she babied the dog in her lap.

"We were worried it might be parvo," Phoenix intervened as he brought over a caramel latte for each of them. "it turned out to be canine flu – she had to be isolated at the vets and everything – but she's made a full recovery since then, and fortunately it didn't spread."

"Thank goodness!" Jasper sighed in relief. "Who's my little fighter, huh?"

Sugar looked up at Jasper, panting and smiling at her.

"You must really like dogs." Cole noted.

"Yeah… I wish I could have one," Jasper mentioned. "but between my job at the department store and my apprenticeship at the museum, it would be left indoors all day, and that's not fair."

"I know that feeling," Cole empathised. "we wouldn't be able to have a dog either, we're so busy either training or actively fighting; a pet would be more of a distraction."

"In that case, I'm surprised that ninja would be allowed to get married," Jasper said. "surely having a life partner is much more distracting, I mean, you're only human."

"Not Zane," Cole shook his head. "he's a nindroid – if anything, having a life partner is gonna make him even more focused."

"So, is he the exception?" Jasper innocently asked, her cheeks going slightly pink.

"Heh, not if Jay and Nya are anything to go by," Cole chuckled. "I'd bet anything that they'll be the next ones to tie the knot."

"Really? How interesting…"


	2. The Date - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of Cole and Jasper's date! And get ready for the next few chapters, because things are going to get exciting! :D Well, I tried to make it exciting anyway, so when the next few chapters go up, please bear in mind that action is not really my forte - romance is.

Also, a glossary word for this chapter: Konbini - a Japanese-style convenience store that does all kinds of cool stuff, not just food and drink like most convenience stores.

BTW, this is set the day after the New Years Gala. I'm aware that it is now July, but I'm doing the whole finishing-chapters-in-advance thing again.

Enjoy!

* * *

After the dog café, Jasper took Cole on a little adventure, going to the museum where she was an apprentice, on to an art supply shop with a gallery right next door, and then to a new age store where she liked to admire the various crystals they had on sale. Upon seeing how utterly enamoured she was by an amethyst pendant, he bought it for her as a thank you for showing him around. Cole couldn't help but smile when he noticed how flushed Jasper became, as he leaned in close to put the necklace on her.

"You really shouldn't have," Jasper purred, toying with the purple gemstone as they walked together. "of course, I'm very grateful, but it's me who should be buying you something."

"You did remember? You got these printed off for me," Cole replied, as he reached into the bag he was holding, and brandished one of three envelopes that were filled with photos downloaded from the Borg Industries blog. "I can't wait to show these to the others!"

"It was nothing, really," She deflected sheepishly. "I've amassed quite a stash of printing credits with the photography department at work, and they have those photo printers in every konbini in New Ninjago."

"Either way, I owed you for using them all on me." He insisted.

Jasper's heart skipped a beat when Cole smiled widely and put his arm around her, patting her shoulder playfully. He was so warm, and the residual heat from his body was making her become rather overheated. She resisted the urge to grab her mirror, fearing that her movement would make him let go of her, and she definitely didn't want that; he made her feel comforted and protected.

"It's been a lovely day," Jasper happily sighed. "thank you so much for inviting me."

"I thought it would be nice for us to hang out before the team goes home." Cole mentioned.

"So, where are you based?" She asked.

"The old Airjitzu temple, it's quite far from the city," Cole paused, sensing Jasper's sudden melancholy, and moved his arm so he could hold her hand. "I promise I'll keep in touch, and we'll be able to meet up occasionally."

"Well, you have my number, so if you find yourself with some free time coming up, just message me and I'm sure we can arrange something," Jasper smiled as the blush on her cheeks deepened, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "because, you know, I'd love to see you again."

"I'd love to see you again too, sooner than later," Cole agreed, as a clock nearby stuck 4pm. "ah… that's my cue, unfortunately; I gotta get back to the hotel, but I'll be counting the hours until the next time."

"Me too." Jasper said, her smile tinted with sadness.

As she withdrew her hand and stood close to him – her red hair shining in the fading sunlight, her emerald eyes looking down at her feet – Cole was hit by a sudden urge. He placed his hand on her cheek, and was struck by how incredibly soft and warm her skin felt. The unexpected contact startled Jasper into looking directly at him. Her verdant eyes glimmered with hope as he gazed into them; the intense affection reflected in them pierced right into his soul. For a moment, he hesitated. He didn't want her to think he was being forceful, but at the same time, he was drawn in by the satin sheen on her lilac-tinted lips. The bustling world around them vanished, as they stood in the middle of the sidewalk, locked in a powerful impasse. It was only the sight of her biting her bottom lip that broke the stalemate, as Cole gently pulled her closer, glancing at her with cloudy eyes.

"Cole," Jasper whispered. "is there something you want?"

"Maybe," Cole murmured, swallowing his nervousness. "I'm just… thinking about last night."

As Jasper also recalled last night – how they had been drinking and dancing together – her internal temperature began to skyrocket, so much that she was certain that she would explode...

* * *

_Was this real? Or was it just a dream? As she lightly swayed with Cole to a slow and beautifully ethereal song, Jasper couldn't help but wonder whether this was actually happening. He curled his free arm around her waist, pulling her close. She was comfortably leaning against his chest with one hand in his, and the other on his shoulder; the sound of his heartbeat was softly thumping in her ear, rapidly overtaking the rhythm of the music. His body exuded a comforting warmth, and from his direction there was the most irresistible scent of sandalwood. She could've fallen asleep here, wrapped up in the arms of a man she felt such a deep connection with; though they had only recently met, he stirred in her a great many emotions. The low lighting, the purring synths, it was all so… perfect. In fact she was very disappointed when the song entered its final instrumentals._

"_Want another drink?" Jasper asked, as the music faded into something more up-tempo._

"_Definitely." Cole replied._

_They walked away from the crowded dancefloor and over to the bar, where Jasper raised her already short kimono so she could sit on the barstool. Cole was almost certain that he caught a fleeting glimpse of her garter belt as he sat on the barstool next to her, but he couldn't be completely sure, owing to how quickly it happened. _

"_Two Roku gin and sodas please." She smiled at the bartender._

"_Gin?" Cole remarked, pulling a face._

"_Don't be fooled by the feminine associations, Roku gin is 43 percent proof – and a citrusy delight if ever there was one." Jasper assured._

"_Your drinks, miss." The bartender placed two large balloon glasses before them._

_Cole eyed up the clear liquid dubiously, as slices of lime and lemon danced on the fizzing surface. Jasper on the other hand, didn't hesitate and had one big mouthful of the drink. She deftly licked the errant fluid from her lips and smiled at Cole expectantly. He faltered for a moment, before lifting the glass and having a tentative sip. The flavour settled on his tongue and he realised she was right._

"_You know, it's pretty good." He admitted, having a bigger sample than before._

"_Trust in me, I'll show you all kinds of new sensations." She purred, placing her hand over his._

_He spluttered at her interesting choice of words, spilling some of the gin on his shirt. She immediately reached into the lapels of her kimono and pulled out a thin cotton handkerchief to try and dry the splash mark. Jasper could once again feel the warmth of his torso through both the shirt and the towel, and she paused. Looking up at him – his cheeks red from, she assumed, alcohol consumption, his eyes hazy and focused intently on her – she felt drawn to him even more. Emboldened by liquor, Jasper grabbed his tuxedo jacket and pulled him close, taking his mouth with hers in a heated and passionate kiss._

_Cole responded with great intensity, getting off of the barstool and snaking his arms around her body. He pressed himself against her, feverishly savouring every second of this sudden and delicious turn of events. She began to rub her leg against his hip; he shivered, briefly breaking the lusty embrace long enough for her to realise that she'd smudged her red lipstick all over his face._

"_Sorry." She breathed._

"_Don't apologise," He growled. "that was great."_

"_Not for that." She laughed as she stood up and led him to a nearby bathroom._

_They casually strolled in, and Jasper directed him to look in the mirror stretching across the wall above the hand-basins._

_"I mean this." She pointed to his face, where he saw for himself the thick red smears of her lipstick._

"_Yeah, better take care of that." He agreed, splashing his face with water._

"_Here, let me…" She soaked the hand towel under the running tap and started wiping the incriminating marks from his skin. "can't have your friends seeing you with all these red marks, they might get the wrong idea."_

"_It wasn't the wrong idea," He stated, as she successfully wiped the lipstick smudges away. "I was enjoying myself."_

"_Me too," She blushed, standing before him sheepishly. "but it wouldn't be good for your team's image to be seen with great big kiss marks all over your face."_

"_That's what _you_ think." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her._

"_I'll take off what's left of my lipstick, just in case." She chuckled as she wiped the red cosmetic from her lips._

"_So we can pick up where we left off?" He asked hopefully._

"_Of course…" She whispered as she pulled him close for another kiss._

_Suddenly, someone else came into the bathroom. They breezed right past Cole and Jasper without a word, and started touching up their foundation in front of the mirror._

"_Do you mind? This is private!" Cole snapped._

"_And this is the _ladies _restroom!" The stranger snapped back. _

_The two of them dashed out of the bathroom in a hurry, laughing raucously as they made their way back to the bar. Jasper took Cole's hand in her own and gave a gentle squeeze, batting her eyes at him when he turned to look at her. He smiled warmly and leaned over to kiss her cheek._

"_Excuse me Sir, Miss." Came a female voice from behind them._

_Worried that the lady from the bathroom had come to confront them, they slowly turned around, only to see a photographer bowing to them politely._

"_May I take your photo?" She asked, holding up her camera._

"_Sure," Cole agreed. "how would you like us?"_

"_Casual, fun, light-hearted." She responded._

"_Like this?" He asked, putting his arms around Jasper._

"_Perfect!" The photographer readied her camera._

"_I know how _I'd_ like you…" Jasper whispered seductively._

_Taken aback by her boldness, Cole started laughing and pulled her even closer. The photographer began clicking away with her camera, and Jasper winked at her as Cole heartily chuckled. When she'd finished taking photos, she had a quick flick through the shots she'd gotten and beamed happily._

"_Thank you so much." She bowed and went on her way._

"_Another dance?" Cole said as his laughter subsided._

"_Definitely!" Jasper answered, pulling him back onto the dancefloor..._

* * *

"I'm not wearing lipstick today, just a layer of gloss," Jasper remarked, her face as red as a beacon. "i-if that's what you were thinking about."

"Sort of," Cole mentioned. "I was thinking about when we were at the bar, having a drink."

"I should probably apologise for being so forward." She relented.

"That's okay, I enjoyed it," He admitted. "in fact, I was hoping for another one, before I go."

"I wouldn't mind a second taste myself." She uttered, her voice dripping with sweetness.

In the cold light of day, there was some hesitation on Jasper's part; she was a naturally reserved person after all. It wasn't a problem last night, of course, being mildly encouraged by alcohol and the company of the person she admired, but that wasn't how she normally acted. Cole, on the other hand, was well aware of Jasper's shyness, which is why he made the first move. He leaned in so close, that as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips, he could feel the heat from her burning cheeks. The supple skin tasted of cherries, and were just as warm – if not hotter – than the girl's flushed face. She soon reacted to the familiar sensation of his mouth on hers and eagerly returned his affection. All semblance of time or location floated away, as Cole and Jasper indulged in each other for a few moments of delicious fulfilment.

Even as they eventually parted, Jasper melted into the subtle tingling left by their passionate embrace.

"Are you sure you can't stay a little longer?" She asked, glancing at him with a coquettish charm in her eyes.

"Well…"

* * *

Cole knew he was running late, as he dashed out of his room and down to the lobby. He'd stayed with Jasper longer than expected, after some rather amorous encouragement. By the time he got back to the hotel it was gone 5:30, and the evening celebration started at 6. It didn't leave him much time to change, but he managed to make it to the designated meeting point regardless. Sapporo Teppanyaki, it turned out, was a restaurant on the upper east side. Mr Borg had evidently booked the whole place out, as Cole recognised some of the other guests who were already seated. He was mildly embarrassed to see that nearly everyone had gotten there before him, including the other ninja.

"We were wondering where you'd got to." Jay laughed as Cole made his way over to them.

"I wasn't, I knew exactly where he was…" Kai announced smugly.

"What does it matter? I'm here now." Cole said, attempting to deflect Kai's attention.

"I agree," Zane intervened. "we are just waiting for the ladies now."

"So, where's the missus?" Lloyd asked, nudging Zane.

"Pixal is with Nya." Zane replied.

"So where is Nya?" Cole asked as he sat down.

Everyone turned to look at Jay, who was surprised that he was the go-to for Nya's whereabouts.

"How should I know where she is?" He wondered, looking away from them. "We were in separate rooms."

"Good!" Kai barked, glaring at him.

"They won't be long," Misako chimed in as she sat down, briefly gesturing to the restaurant entrance. "Pixal just saw some familiar faces and took Nya over to introduce her."

By the glass double doors, next to the hostess stand, were Nya, Pixal, and two young women they didn't recognise, though Pixal seemed excited to see them. Even from a cursory glance, the women were clearly polar opposites – one had short, black hair and the other had long white hair; the noir-haired woman was tall, and dressed in a pant suit which matched her hair colour. The other woman was quite short, and wore a red slip dress with a white faux fur shawl. Pixal clapped her hands excitedly and encouraged them to follow her. All four ladies made their way back to the table where the ninja were sitting.

"Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce Marilyn," Pixal smiled widely, gesturing to the dark-haired woman first, and then to the white-haired one. "and Shiro."

"How nice to meet you all." Shiro bowed.

"The pleasure is ours, I'm sure," Zane beamed. "and I do believe congratulations are in order."

"Thanks, we should say the same to you," Marilyn smirked as she put her arm around Pixal's shoulder. "I'm just sorry we missed the wedding."

"Yes, we only got back this morning." Shiro added.

"Wait… are these the two dancers that…?" Cole asked.

"Eloped?" Marilyn finished his sentence. "Yep, that's us – although, if we'd have known that our little Pixal was getting hitched we would've put it off a little longer."

"We're so proud of her!" Shiro purred, briefly hugging Pixal. "And Nya, of course; from the footage we saw, she did a marvellous job of learning the winter dance!"

"Footage? I didn't know anyone was filming." Nya tilted her head.

"Not just filming," Cole interjected. "you should see the photos Jasper printed off for me."

"Ah yes, Ruby's little sister," Shiro nodded. "lovely girl; didn't know she was dating anyone though."

Kai laughed as Cole's face went red. No one but he and Lloyd knew about Jasper and Cole's date, and they'd only found out by accident: now _everyone_ knew.

"She could do a damn sight worse than an elemental ninja," Marilyn leaned on Cole's shoulder and whispered. "just be gentle with her, she's a vestal."

"Marilyn!" Shiro instantly became flushed and swatted at her wife's arm.

"What?" Marilyn chuckled. "Oh, there's the boss, we better go say hi – it was lovely to meet you!"

Shiro and Marilyn departed and made their way over to Mr Borg, who was currently speaking to Sensei Wu. Meanwhile, Cole's face was burning like never before; he was not the scholarly sort, but even _he_ knew what Marilyn meant by 'vestal'.

"So… how was your date?" Kai smugly wondered.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Cole denied.

"Yes I do," Kai grinned. "Jasper accidentally knocked on my door this morning, while she was looking for _yours_."

"Ruby will be pleased," Pixal declared. "she always hoped Jasper would find someone respectable."

"Him? Respectable? That's one word for it, I guess!" Jay laughed.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense; how was your date?" Nya said as she sat beside him.

"We went for something to eat, then we went shopping, and then I came here." Cole summarised, seemingly getting redder with every passing second.

"_You_ purposely went shopping?" Lloyd gasped. "Someone feel his forehead; he must be ill!"

"He certainly looks feverish," Zane touched Cole's face. "come on, let's go out for some fresh air."

Cole got up and followed Zane outside, onto a porch-like area enclosed by wooden guardrails. Admittedly, the cool evening air did him the world of good – but it figured that the Master of Ice would know the benefits of the cold. They stood together in silence at first, after all, Zane wasn't one to force an issue; he was happy to wait for Cole to speak of his own accord. It would take a little time of course, as Cole was only now cooling off to a significant degree.

"It was very considerate of you to have the photos printed off," Zane eventually said. "Pixal and I would be most grateful to receive a copy of them."

"You should be thanking Jasper," Cole answered. "she used all her printing credits to get them."

"We will procure a suitable thank you gift," Zane insisted. "perhaps you will be so kind as to give it to her, on our behalf."

Cole briefly smiled, before his face sank into a frustrated frown. He sighed and leaned against the wall.

"I wanted to keep it quiet," He insisted. "I mean, after all that love triangle stuff with Nya a few years ago, I just wanted something a bit more private."

"You would not have been able to keep this kind of secret for long," Zane poignantly noted. "it would only be a matter of time before one of us caught you doing something."

Cole raised an eyebrow at Zane, who beamed at him with a knowing smile. The earth ninja also smiled, and started to laugh and shake his head. His compatriot was paraphrasing his own words back at him, words spoken after the intimate depths of Zane and Pixal's relationship had first come out – exactly one week ago.

"Point taken." Cole chuckled.

"Still, it is a pity that Jasper could not have been here," Zane began. "it would be most advantageous for you both to present a united front."

"Yeah," Cole softly smiled to himself, as his eyes cast downward. "I don't know how I'm gonna handle being so far away from her – it sounds ridiculous, I know; I haven't even known her that long."

Zane put his hand on Cole's shoulder.

"I knew Pixal for all of three seconds when I knew I was in love with her," Zane mentioned. "if anyone understands how you feel, it is me."

Cole was comforted by that and he beamed at his teammate confidently.

"C'mon, let's head back inside." Cole said.


	3. The Subroutine - Part 1

Hey all, welcome to the next part of Afterparty, a delicious four parter called The Subroutine. I'm trying to put more action into my fanfics, whether or not I'm good at it remains to be seen; I may just stick to cuteness after this little experiment ^_^

Enjoy!

* * *

Shiro typed furiously on the keyboard, looking up at the screen. She hadn't been back at work a month before things were already getting challenging. Not as far as her co-workers, they'd all been very warm and accepting – for the most part – the problem was her current task. The ninja had been invited back to Borg industries to try the new fighting simulation, and things were going as well as could be expected… until Zane had gone in for the first go.

Something in the simulation's programming and Zane's own software was clashing wildly.

"Reboot the system!" Mr Borg insisted.

"Sir, we can't do that until I internally disconnect him from the main server." Shiro squeaked.

"Just be glad Pixal isn't here," Kai mentioned. "she'd freak out if she saw this!"

Zane's unconscious body was seizing uncontrollably in the VR seat as sparks shot out of the headset he was wearing.

"Shut it down! Now!" Mr Borg demanded.

"Sir, if we don't disconnect properly he'll be vulnerable to external attack!" Shiro panicked, frantically accessing the failsafe exit procedure.

"I've had it with this!" Jay intervened, gathering a small ball of lighting in his palm to disable the headset.

"Don't touch it!" Shiro yelled.

But she was too late, Jay had already put his electrically charged hand on the power supply. There was a flash of light, as the charge flew through the seat and surged into every other computer connected to it. A whirling shut down sound followed, and all the machines went off, one after another. The entire room was silent; Jay was mortified at the destruction he had just caused, and his face burned in embarrassment. Suddenly the headset broke in two and fell from Zane's face. He slowly opened his eyes and stood up, before promptly falling over.

"Bro, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Jay asked, helping him back up.

"Angel subroutine… enabled," Zane uttered in a monotone voice. "syncing activation with designated counterpart…"

"Ooh dear…" Mr Borg mumbled.

"Jay, take Zane outside to recover." Lloyd said.

"Of course," Jay agreed, guiding Zane into the elevator. "come on, let's get you some fresh air."

"Two way protocol… now fully operative." Zane rigidly stated.

With the two of them gone, Lloyd approached Mr Borg and deeply bowed, his gaze fixed firmly on the floor.

"We're really sorry about the damage to your equipment." He said sincerely.

"Think no more about it," Mr Borg waved his hand in a forgiving motion. "Jay did what he thought best to remedy the situation."

"Sir…" Shiro glanced at her boss more sternly than she should have. "What is the Angel subroutine?"

"Oh it's nothing, just a subsidiary program that exists as part of the Genbu processor," Mr Borg deflected. "both Zane and Pixal had the Genbu installed during their respective rebuilds."

"With all due respect, sir, don't patronise me," She grimaced. "this program has interfered with the simulation's coding – surely you informed the main programmer that this existed when you requested the simulation to be built?"

"Of course I did, but _you_ are my main programmer, and if you had actually been here in the coding stages, it would not have gone wrong." Mr Borg frowned.

He knew it was a low blow; Shiro and Marilyn's elopement was hardly planned to coincide with the creation of this new virtual reality fighting simulator, but she looked away with embarrassment as he mentioned it.

"Mr Borg, Zane's our friend; what just happened to him?" Cole asked.

"It appears that Zane cannot use the virtual simulator, due to an internal conflict, so we will have to move to a live simulation on a recently acquired island not far from the city," Mr Borg bowed apologetically. "I will inform your sensei that you will be delayed by a day or so; accommodation will of course be provided for you."

"Please, Cyrus, be honest with us," Nya pleaded. "just tell us what this Angel thing is."

"It is… difficult to explain, it would be easier to show you," Mr Borg replied. "but Zane needs some time to recover from the shock, so please, avail yourself of the facilities and all will be revealed tomorrow."

Unconvinced, but not wanting to appear rude, Lloyd ushered Nya, Kai and Cole to the elevator. As they got in and the doors closed, Mr Borg's half-hearted smile faded. He turned to Shiro and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Please forgive me, Shiro, it was most inappropriate of me to say that," Mr Borg spoke softly and sincerely. "I didn't mean it the way it came out."

"I know you didn't," Shiro politely smiled. "it was a tense situation; it would be remiss of me to hold it against you."

* * *

Early the next day, the ninja and Mr Borg – along with Shiro and a handful of other technicians – all boarded a large vessel headed to this new island of Mr Borg's. He had invested in a high tech catamaran for this very reason, and proudly boasted about the space and specs of his new Saba 50. Zane had returned to normal after yesterday's incident, much to the relief of his team (especially Jay, who held himself responsible for what happened). There were seemingly no side effects, but Nya was still concerned.

"You sure you're feeling better?" Nya asked, her voice full of concern.

"My head hurts a little, but apart from that I feel fine, thank you." He nodded.

"So, do you know what this 'Angel subroutine' is?" She pried.

"Angel subroutine?" He remarked, confused.

"Yesterday, when you got shocked by Jay, you said something about an Angel subroutine being activated… don't you remember?"

"No." Zane gently shook his head.

"Zane!" Pixal squealed.

Caught completely unawares, Zane turned around. His face lit up when he saw Pixal run over to him and he opened his arms to her. She threw herself into his embrace and he lifted her, briefly spinning her around. The ruckus reached the attention of Kai and Jay, who were watching the ocean just a few feet away from the lovers reunion.

"Pixal!" Zane beamed, gently kissing her. "I didn't know you were here; I thought you were busy training."

"We were," Wu intervened, as he approached his students. "but Mr Borg invited us to come and watch the live fighting simulation."

"I am very excited to see you all in action." Pixal smiled.

"But you've seen us fight before." Jay laughed as they came over.

"Not on _this_ island, it is a recent acquisition of my father's." She responded.

"I thought maybe you'd come to fight alongside us." Kai joked, winking at her.

"Sadly not," Pixal chuckled. "I have not been in training long enough."

"She is making good progress though," Wu mentioned. "perhaps you could chaperone her, see how she gets on?"

"I wouldn't mind," Kai agreed, looking over at Zane. "the question is, do you trust me to look after your missus?"

"Of course I trust you." Zane smiled.

"But if anything happens to her, you'd better watch your back." Jay teased.

"Guys! Guys!" Cole ran over to them, looking pretty distressed.

"You okay?" Kai wondered. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"The island; it's… it's…" Cole stammered. "it's Master Chen's!"

"As in, that lunatic who had the elemental tournament?" Jay turned to look at Pixal. "Did you know about this?"

"Yes," Pixal stated. "my father wanted to repurpose it after Chen was banished."

"I am not sure how I feel about this revelation…" Zane nervously said.

"A team of Shinto priests have performed a purification ritual over every square inch of the island, and placed protection spells at all possible entry points," Pixal subtly took his hand. "Chen cannot be freed from the cursed realm, Zane: even if he could, he cannot return here – there will not be a repeat of what happened last time."

Zane still held some reservations about being back on the rock that once belonged to that maniac; no doubt he would be besieged by flashbacks the whole time they were there. As they passed the numerous jagged rocks that littered the immediate area, the ferryman expertly maneuvered the vessel into position, and in one smooth motion, docked the ship without so much as a bump. The deckhands set about securely mooring the water-bound beast to the dock, as Mr Borg came over to speak with them.

"Well, here we are!" He smiled. "The new training ground!"

"It looks familiar," Lloyd baited. "when did you get it?"

"Only recently, two weeks ago at most," Mr Borg replied. "I realise it may come as a shock to be back here, seeing as this used to belong to Master Chen, but I assure you that any traces of that… _charlatan_ have been removed."

"Yes, Pixal was telling us." Jay remarked.

"That said, the entire island is booby-trapped, my security droids are patrolling, and we will be able to monitor everything that happens here on the catamaran," Cyrus warned. "you will pair off, and go in different directions; your objective is to find the hidden cabin, retrieve a flash-drive and bring it back here."

"But there's 7 of us, we can't pair off." Cole noted.

Cyrus Borg paused as he counted them, expecting a total of 6, only to see Pixal also standing in the line-up, bringing the number up to 7.

"Ah, yes, I see what you mean…" He paused for a moment.

"If I may make a suggestion?" Wu intervened.

"Of course." Cyrus nodded.

"Perhaps splitting them into two teams would be better; seeing as Pixal is still in training, perhaps it would be wise for her to be teamed with Kai and Lloyd," Wu suggested. "then we could simply put Zane with Jay, Cole, and Nya; provided, of course, that you don't object to her joining in the exercise."

"If she's happy to participate I'm happy for her to do it," Mr Borg grinned at his daughter confidently. "as long as Kai and Lloyd are alright with the arrangement."

"You can trust us, sir." Lloyd said as he and Kai bowed.

"Thank you, father." Pixal also bowed.

"Good, good," Cyrus smiled. "now, is everyone ready to commence the operation?"

"Subroutine operative, alliance engaged." Zane and Pixal replied simultaneously, in a hollow computerized fashion.

Such a response caused an air of mild concern, especially as the two appeared to return to their normal, relaxed selves mere seconds later. Kai and Lloyd glanced at each other and wondered exactly what they'd gotten themselves into by agreeing to escort Pixal on this training activity.

"Best of luck to everyone!" Mr Borg cheered, as the ninja split up and ventured onto the island in their respective groups.

* * *

"I'm sure she's fine." Nya assured.

"I know she is," Zane agreed. "she has progressed well in her training with Sensei Wu."

"And Kai and Lloyd know they'll be in trouble if they don't look after her." Jay quietly laughed.

"Is it wrong that I kinda want them to mess up?" Cole glanced at Zane, knowing his opinion was controversial. "I'd give almost anything to see the snowstorm that destroyed this island the first time."

"I will attempt to bring up the memory files for you," Zane offered. "once we are back at the temple."

"Everyone get down!" Jay hissed.

They all immediately sunk into the long grass as a veritable horde of security droids marched past, completely unaware of them. Zane used his scanner to determine how many enemies were nearby, and how close they were – or weren't – to the hidden cabin. Admittedly, he was mildly distracted by the absence of his wife, and quite surprised that Cyrus did not put them together for this exercise. Having said that, he understood that there would be times when they would be apart, and she would have to fend for herself; though she had Kai and Lloyd with her this time around.

"The cabin is at least 3 miles away," Zane muttered. "but the closer we get, the more droids we are likely to encounter."

Once the coast was clear, they emerged from the grass and continued on their way. Nya could see, that for all his protesting otherwise, Zane was not quite right. He seemed to drift in and out of his own mind – he would flip between appropriate situational alertness and going glassy eyed, glancing at the forest with pain-filled familiarity. No one wanted to be back here, least of all Zane, who was reminded of a number of things he wanted to forget.

"This place gives me so many bad vibes," Jay fretted. "I don't know what Mr Borg was thinking."

"Based on what Pixal said, he wanted to reclaim it as part of New Ninjago," Cole theorized. "and he went to a _lot_ of trouble to make sure Chen couldn't come back to this island, even if he got out of the Cursed Realm."

"Yeah, I get that, but seriously, a whole _team_ of priests to cleanse the island?" Jay gestured dramatically with his arms. "I can't be the only one who thinks that was excessive."

"You are aware this island is _huge_, right?" Cole chuckled.

As they approached a derelict building, Zane stopped. Cole and Jay stood either side of him and watched as he attempted to take in every detail of the unkempt structure. They wondered what was so special about this one in particular that he would pause so forebodingly – it wasn't the cabin they were looking for, and it looked much like the other neglected buildings that were falling apart after several years of disuse.

"Taking in the scenery?" Cole asked.

"This is where it started..." Zane muttered darkly. "It is not the original building – this is what they rebuilt after I destroyed it."

"So this is where...?" Nya began, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"This is where they decided to test my powers... where they cut off Pixal's arm..." Zane looked down at his hands. "I will never get that image out of my head; it haunts me."

"I'll never understand why they thought that was a good idea," Jay added, trying to lighten the mood. "I mean, if you've _gotta_ test a guy's elemental power, use the power-absorbing staff you conveniently have lying around; don't provoke him into a rage."

"Clouse did not care if it was a good idea or not, he was too interested in flexing his control over his minions," Zane said angrily as his eyes narrowed. "he was an egotistical, self-important narcissist, who thought that the sheer amount of men under his command would be enough to control the fallout of what he did."

"I can't imagine what it was like for you to see Pixal being assaulted like that, but it's all in the past now," Nya tried to assuage Zane's guilt. "thanks to you, she has her new body and is learning to defend herself – she'll never be that vulnerable again."

"Nya's right," Jay nodded in agreement. "Pixal couldn't be in better hands than yours."

Zane looked up, and the anger in his expression simply melted away. He smiled peacefully at Jay, pulling his friend in for a hug. Jay was startled at first, but patted Zane on the back reassuringly; he had no idea how much his nindroid companion appreciated that comment.

"My apologies for getting caught up in the moment – let's continue on." Zane beamed, letting go of Jay and making an abrupt turn to walk around the building.

Cole for one was amazed at how quickly Zane's demeanour could change. As they deftly made their way further into the woodland, he watched the ice ninja's confident gait, and wondered if there was in fact an internal switch for his emotions.


	4. The Subroutine - Part 2

Hey guys! I tried to make the next couple chapters a little more actiony so hopefully you'll like those. I also have another fic in the works known as What If. It's nowhere near finished of course, so I'm hoping these upcoming chapters will make up for it! Enjoy!

* * *

"How is it looking?" Wu asked, peering over Cyrus' shoulder as he sat by the surveillance console.

"Good, everyone is on course to finding the hidden cabin." Cyrus responded.

"I was surprised you were so willing to let Pixal join in." Wu noted.

"She is forging a new path for herself, I have to trust her," Cyrus kept turning to the satellite map which was tracking everyone's movements. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried, especially since she's apart from Zane."

"Kai and Lloyd are diligent students; you can rely on them to assist where her training may fall short." Wu assured him.

"No, it's not that…" Cyrus paused. "Sensei Wu, there is something you need to know about Zane."

"Oh yes? And what is that?"

"During the trial of the virtual reality simulator, an element of Zane's programming clashed with something in the coding of the VR device," Cyrus spun around to face the aged master. "the subsequent shock used by Jay to cease the internal conflict, has activated a previously dormant piece of software."

"Interesting…" Wu nodded. "what does that mean?"

"It's nothing to be concerned about, after all, Pixal has the same hardware," Cyrus turned back to the screen. "I just thought you should be aware of it – in case he begins to act strangely when everyone gets home."

"Thank you for letting me know," Wu smiled. "well, if you will excuse me, I am going on deck to meditate."

Wu meandered away from the surveillance area and Cyrus heaved a weighty sigh. Shiro noticed how deflated he seemed. She drifted across on her wheeled desk chair and stopped next to him. He glanced at her through his peripheral vision then looked back at the screen.

"Sir, you seem troubled." She lured.

"Not at all." He deflected, sitting up straight.

"There's no need to worry about Pixal, she's with the ninja and she's been training with Sensei Wu," Shiro reminded him. "she'll be fine."

"It's not her I'm worried about… it's the others…"

"Is this about the Angel subroutine?" She probed. "You never did tell me what it is or what it does."

"It's a failsafe, a means of protection; part of the Genbu processor that's present in both of them," He confessed. "if placed in two regular electronic devices, such as a smartphone or computer, it allows one to protect the other one's data in the event of a cyber hacking incident."

"So, what will it do to Zane and Pixal?"

With a heavy sigh, Cyrus removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

"I don't know for sure… I _do _know that the protective qualities are active, but how they will manifest, I can't imagine..." He put his glasses back on and stared at the screen which tracked the ninja's movements. "all we can do now is watch and wait."

"So ominous…" She whistled. "Is this your way of telling us to expect a blizzard?"

"That depends on whoever sends the signal first…"

* * *

Not wanting to crowd her, or make her feel like a damsel that required constant protection, Lloyd and Kai had allowed Pixal to follow them, rather than have one of them take point and the other bring up the rear, with her in the middle. After a couple of run-ins with Mr Borg's security droids, it was clear that she could handle herself, having taken out a few with a formidable blade they didn't even know she had. However, they were careful to still keep her in their peripheral vision; Jay was only kidding when he insinuated that they'd be in deep trouble with Zane if anything happened to her, but many a true word was spoken in jest…

"Is she still looking at us?" Kai whispered.

"Yeah, but you should be used to it by now," Lloyd whispered back. "she's been giving us that look on-and-off for like a month now."

"Do you think she knows?" Kai wondered quietly.

"No way," Lloyd shook his head. "she would've said something well before now."

As they trekked through the leafy terrain, eyes skimmed on the dense shrubbery, with the occasional glimpse up at the treetops, there was a certain intensity looming in the air. It had been a month since the wedding – since their illicit tryst in the hotel – and Kai and Lloyd had all but returned to being normal teammates. Aside from the odd lingering glance, they had kept everything strictly on the level. But every now and then, Pixal would _look_ at them; her green eyes burning into them like a laser pointer. It was the look of someone who knew something that no one else did, but she never said anything (to them or anyone else). She only _looked_.

"According to my sensors, the cabin is not far away," Pixal said. "however, we have not encountered any resistance in a while, so we should stay on alert."

"Thanks Pix," Kai smiled. "you're right, we're bound to come across another wave of goons."

"We should continue in this direction," Pixal insisted. "stealth mode is advised."

"Agreed." Lloyd nodded.

The three of them moved into a crouch-and-sneak position, snaking their way through the long grass and shifting their gaze as they went. It was a wonderful, sunny day, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky; had it been closer to the summertime they might have hung out on the beach. Regardless, the beautiful weather was a most pleasant addition, but it could never have indicated what was about to happen. They approached a large wooden structure, but before they could get close to it, a dozen of Cyrus' security droids emerged from the shadows and attacked them. Between the two battle-experienced ninja and the situationally-aware nindroid, the other droids were easily dispatched.

"That was easy." Kai chuckled.

No sooner had he finished speaking, another two dozen security droids rocked up, even more aggressive than the last group. This time, there was considerably more exertion on the ninja's part, as they resorted to their elemental powers and Spinjitzu to fight them off. Pixal, meanwhile, fell back on her defensive moves, ducking and twirling and swaying as she had on the dancefloor. This evasion method worked pretty well; while she shimmied out of harm's way, the droids were hitting each other in their attempts to strike her. It was only when she turned to see how her compatriots were getting on, that one of the droids slashed at her shoulder with a diamond-tipped tanto blade, taking a small chunk out of it. Pixal paused, before she let out a high frequency shriek that seemed to briefly echo across the island.

"Pixal!" Lloyd called out to her, as he kicked away the droid attacking him and ran over to her. "Are you okay?"

He didn't get an answer. He saw her eyes turn from peaceful green to fearsome red and she growled viciously. A long blade curved out from her left forearm like a jagged longsword, as she produced the aikuchi dagger from the concealed sheath under her sleeve. The metal of her right arm began to twist and shift, followed by the whirring of a plasma cannon charging up. A resonant battle cry emerged from the once-pacifistic droid, as she flew into a violent rage…

* * *

Red lights on the wall began flashing wildly.

"Sir, sir!" Shiro yelled. "Something just set off the frequency detector!"

"Ma'am, there's a duplicate signal coming from a few miles away from Pixal's location!" A technician worriedly tugged on Shiro's sleeve.

"Oh no…" Cyrus' eyes went wide. "It's started…"

"The subroutine…?" Shiro asked.

"Yes." He breathed.

"Can we stop it?" She looked at him, deeply concerned.

"No, all we can do is watch," He sighed. "make sure all camera-enabled drones are sent to the area, I need this to be documented!"

* * *

Zane stopped.

"Is this another location recognition type of thing?" Jay wondered.

The nindroid said nothing.

"Doesn't look like it," Cole answered. "there's no building here."

"Zane, you okay?" Nya asked.

Moments ago, they heard a loud, high-pitched yell, and Zane had halted in his tracks. His expression slowly turned from neutral to furious, and his left eye twitched uncontrollably. The semi-cold air dropped into sub-zero temperatures within a matter of seconds.

"Jeez, what's up with the weather?" Jay shivered. "It's gone freezing all of a sudden!"

"Can anyone else hear that?" Cole wondered.

A low, constant murmur, that resembled the haunting vocals of a distant choir, seemed to appear out of nowhere. It rumbled so quietly that they could just about hear it, but it was such a peculiar thing to hear on this island, miles away from New Ninjago. An icy wind chill quickly descended on them, violently shaking the trees and the grass, and spinning around Zane's body; isolating him in the vortex of a bitter gust.

"Looks like you might get to see the snowstorm after all," Jay shouted over the noise of the vicious gale. "something's set him off."

"No kidding!" Cole yelled.

"Guys, get back!" Nya shoved them away as ice swept across the ground and consumed whatever it touched.

Suddenly, Zane took off into the forest, leaving a frozen trail in his wake.

"C'mon, we gotta follow him!" Cole declared.

As they chased after him as fast as they could, they saw chunks of ice being launched forward, uprooting trees by sheer force, and sharp icicles emerged from his shoulders like pointed armour. When they could see a wooden fence on the horizon, they expected him to stop, but he didn't. Instead, he took a running jump and – in a matter of seconds – covered himself in a thick layer of ice and cannonballed straight through the fence as though it were paper. Cole jumped straight through the newly formed entry point, but Nya was stunned and stopped for a moment. Jay grabbed her hand.

"We need to keep up," He said, assisting her through the frost-coated hole in the fence. "he's running a lot faster than usual."

It wasn't long before they came upon a rather large cluster of security droids, and Cole, Jay and Nya immediately jumped in to fight them. Meanwhile, Zane hesitated, but only for as long as it took to form razor sharp ice blades that stretched out from his hands. With a bellowing roar, he too leapt into action, furiously hacking and slicing into any droids foolish enough to come close. He was becoming more and more aggressive with each defeated droid; first with deep, penetrating stabs to the chest, then well-aimed thrusts to cut into the processor, before moving on to outright beheading them. However, he soon came upon the leader of this particular group, who was able to dodge or deflect many of his attacks without issue.

"So much _fire_, for such a cold element," She chuckled, her voice muffled slightly by the mask she wore, and swiping back at him with a gleaming ninjaken blade. "your _darling_ wife would be so proud."

Zane was momentarily startled by this; no other security droid had said anything more than their programmed responses of "intruder alert".

"The Angel subroutine has been activated, and the mention of one of the protected parties indicates guilt," Zane insisted. "confess your involvement, or face the consequences."

"Confess what, exactly?" She deflected. "I haven't done _anything_."

"Your exaggerated tone indicates definite involvement," He fumed, slashing at her and coming up against her blade every time. "confess!"

"How _cute_ that you think I would be involved in harming her," She laughed again. "knowing who she is, and who she's married to – who would be that stupid?"

"You are deliberately withholding information!" Zane yelled as he caught her off guard with a roundhouse kick – that missed – followed by a swift headbutt – which didn't.

He put his foot on her chest and held his ice blade close to her masked face. A thick frost spread from beneath his foot, over her arms and legs, which pinned her down. Ice began to form into a snake-like pattern across her neck as Zane glared at her ominously.

"Where is she?" He demanded.

"You know where she is, just follow the signal," She chuckled hoarsely, the ice around her throat getting a little too tight. "and who _knows _what could be happening to her while you waste your time on me?"

The female droid laughed manically, only for Zane to angrily jam his ice blade through her heart. The haunting laughter continued while she slowly shut down. Suddenly, there was a loud boom, and the ground beneath their feet briefly shook. Zane looked up from the droid he had stabbed and instantly ran off again.


	5. The Subroutine - Part 3

Pixal stood over the remains of the final droid, panting heavily, having blown its head clean off with a plasma cannon that was built into her arm.

All around them were the defeated droids, laying on the floor like obsolete hardware. Kai and Lloyd were impressed to say the least; with just one flesh wound (so to speak), Pixal had gone from passive to aggressive in a matter of seconds. She had taken out her fair share of the droids that set upon them, in a much more hostile way than they expected – most of them had smoking craters where their limbs had once been, one of them had a hole in the middle of their torso, and some of them had their heads unceremoniously sliced off.

"You okay, Pix?" Kai asked.

"I am fine, thank you." She replied, as her breathing slowed back to normal.

Her eyes returned to their usual green, the blade on her arm slowly retracted and the plasma cannon on her other arm wound down to a low whining noise.

"Come on, let's keep going." Lloyd suggested.

As Pixal moved away from the droid she had beheaded, she wobbled a little, before she ultimately collapsed. Fortunately, Kai had managed to catch her before she hit the floor.

"Pixal, can you hear me?" He asked, gently jostling her.

"I think she's out cold." Lloyd surmised.

"Speaking of cold… is it just me or has it just gotten a lot colder around here?"

"Zane…" Pixal mumbled.

As Lloyd went to reply, he was distracted by the thick trees nearby as they began to brutally shake. Fearing another droid attack, Kai took a protective stance around Pixal, while Lloyd readied himself for another fight. A thin frost spread out on the ground before them, giant pieces of ice began knocking down the trees one by one, and a vicious squall whipped through the trees that were still standing. Through the newly formed gap in the greenery, Zane appeared, and on his face was the image of seething rage.

"Zane?" Kai had never seen his friend looking so furious.

Zane didn't respond, but his expression was unbendingly irate, and his posture was combative; he held himself ready for battle, and as the arctic tempest continued to spin around him, an outward spiral of jagged ice formed at his feet. He stared around intently, and his eyes came upon Kai and Lloyd holding his beloved Pixal. He realised that they were protecting her, and his fury promptly subsided. The heavy wind faded away and the glacial armour on his body broke apart. He ran over to them and dropped to his knees.

"Is she alright? What happened?" He demanded.

"She's fine, she just over-exerted herself," Kai assured him in a hushed tone. "you would've been proud of her; she kicked some serious butt."

"Besides, we could ask you the same thing; you looked possessed when you first came though those trees!" Lloyd noted.

"I heard a high-frequency signal, and then I went into a trance," Zane answered, lifting Pixal from Kai's arms and into his own. "it was just like the last time, when I had to cause as much destruction as possible…"

"It… happened to me too." Pixal muttered as she slowly came back online.

"Pixal!" Zane gasped, holding her close to him. "Thank goodness!"

"Now that you mention it, Pixal did let out a loud squeal when she was caught off-guard by a droid," Kai mentioned, gesturing to the chunk taken off her shoulder. "I noticed a really low vocal sound after that, and it was constant, like a ringing in the ears."

Zane winced, as he realised that the arm she had injured was the same arm she'd had sliced off the last time they were on this island.

"Pixal caused a considerable amount of damage," Lloyd nodded at the droid nearby with the scorch mark where it's head once was. "she fought like someone who had years of training."

"I was not in control of myself," Pixal admitted. "I was content to use defensive manoeuvres, but suddenly I was overcome by an uncontrollable rage…"

* * *

"Fascinating…" Mr Borg murmured to himself, as he reviewed the footage caught by the drones. "I must tell Sensei Wu!"

Mr Borg left the console room to find the aging Spinjitzu master, while Shiro turned to one of the other technicians.

"I had no idea how strong the sub-routine was going to be," Shiro leaned back in her chair. "that was just amazing!"

"I was expecting more," the technician replied. "I heard that he practically levelled this island the first time..."

"Oh come on, Tony, you can't be serious! It was fantastic!" She looked at him in disbelief. "We even got to see Pixal's reaction too!"

"I wonder if we could trigger it again, only stronger." Tony mused.

"You wouldn't dare… you'd get the sack for sure." She warned him.

"Pfff, as if – I was one of the people who picked up the slack after _you_ galivanted off with that woman from accounts," He scoffed, as Shiro glared at him. "I didn't program this 'Angel subroutine', but I can certainly set it off again…"

"You really think it'll be that easy?" Shiro laughed. "You're even dumber than I thought!"

She carried on laughing heartily, as she stood up and wandered over to some of the other technicians. He watched her chatting casually to his co-workers and became silently infuriated. How could they be so chummy with her? After she went swanning away with Marilyn, they were left to handle _her _workload as well as their own. Late nights, early mornings, having to come in on days off to manage the construction of the VR fighting simulator. And then, to go back to being her subordinates when she eventually drifted back from her honeymoon; it was more than he could stand.

"Stuck up wench," He fumed, taking out his personal tablet and typing heatedly. "I can figure this out, all I have to do is find the right frequency…"

"Hey, Tony, whatcha doin'?"

"Cheryl!" Tony jumped, and placed his tablet face down on the chair left vacant by Shiro. "Please don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry hun, just wondering if you fancy a coffee?" She replied, batting her eyelashes. "You're all on your lonesome over here."

Tony smiled politely, but secretly hoped she would stop hovering around. If it were anyone else finding excuses to be near him, he would be flattered, but he was well aware that her older brother was head of security, and _he_ wouldn't like it at all. Tony and Hedges never got on, because Tony always thought he was full of hot air; what else was he to make of a heavily tattooed security officer who only got his job because of his influential father? Cheryl started working for Mr Borg shortly after her older brother, but _she_ got her job on the merits of her qualifications. Still, he was the reason that Tony hesitated in getting too close to her.

"I'm fine thanks, Cheryl," He insisted. "I was just about to go for a breath of fresh air anyway."

Without giving her a chance to respond, he grabbed his tablet and swiftly strolled away. He made his way onto the deck of the catamaran, where Mr Borg and Sensei Wu were discussing something of a rather serious nature – or at least, that's what he assumed from the serious looks on their faces. Tony waved to them as he passed, jumping the small gap between the vessel and the wooden dock. One of the deck-hands was smoking a cigarette at the nexus between the dock and the island's white sands. The man gave Tony a nod of acknowledgement, and precious little else, as he flicked the excess ash from his cigarette and took another drag.

"Don't wander too far, fancy boy." The man growled as smoke emerged from his mouth.

"I won't, just going for a walk," Tony assured him, before lowering his volume. "ugh, I dread to think where Mr Borg got _that _guy from."

He wouldn't be told what to do by some sub-servient serf who smoked like a chimney. As soon as he was out of sight of the catamaran, and that _ghastly _deck hand, he set about attempting to re-trigger the Angel subroutine. It was simply a matter of hacking into the drones' speakers and cycling through as many wavelengths as possible; just like those spirit boxes which could supposedly allow spirits of the deceased to communicate with the living. Not that Tony believed in such things, he was far too concerned with real world matters, like proving that Shiro was a weak-willed fop who had no clue what she was doing.

Suddenly, he came upon just the right signal, and – with a smile on his face – pressed the relevant buttons on his tablet, waiting to see the _real _result of the Angel subroutine in action…

* * *

"Hopefully she'll be well enough to continue soon," Kai mused, as Pixal lay half-conscious in Zane's arms. "we're supposed to be on a training exercise."

"And you should be with your own team." Lloyd mentioned.

"My sudden disappearance makes it look like I purposely ditched them; what will they think of me?" Zane openly wondered.

Before Kai had a chance to respond, a loud high pitched whine echoed out from somewhere nearby, to which everyone flinched. Suddenly, Zane's posture went rigid. Pixal instantly regained complete lucidity. She leapt out of his arms and stood beside him, mirroring the combative pose he went into. Pixal activated a plasma cannon on both arms, with several long, curved blades that protruded laterally along her forearms. In bizarre synchronisation, Pixal's weapons manifested at exactly the same moment as Zane's ice powers; a layer of jagged, threatening shards protruded from his back and head like armour.

"External threat detected," They spoke in unison, briefly looking at each other. "retaliation procedure enabled."

With that, the pair of them dashed away in the same general direction that Zane had come from, leaving Lloyd and Kai to wonder what the hell was going on. Zane and Pixal were on a mission of their own; seek out the source of the external signal and destroy it. They briefly exchanged a glance as they tore through the forest, with Zane using his ice powers to cut through the dense plant life, and Pixal blowing ten kinds out of anything else that got in their way.

Lloyd and Kai were following behind the destruction, watching them run side by side – with the occasional zig-zag as they crossed each other's paths, practically dancing flirtatiously around each other. Suddenly, they passed Nya, Jay and Cole, who were following the ice path laid out by Zane. Kai waved to them, and what started as a two team training exercise, had now turned into follow the leader, as all five of the ninja were now tracking the droids on their destructive wave.

"What's going on?" Jay asked Lloyd.

"Something triggered them." Lloyd responded as they ran.

"One minute she was unconscious, and he was fine, then there was another strange sound, and now it's like they're both on the warpath." Kai elaborated.

Pixal leapt forward and spun wildly, taking out a number of thick trees. As if playing along, Zane jumped up and hit the ground running, causing an outward spiral of sharpened ice to form. The others managed to avoid being injured or stopped by the frosty spikes and felled trees, dodging them as only ninjas could. The droids were moving with intention and decent speed, but it didn't prevent them from playing up to each other; cutting bigger waves of carnage, larger blasts of ice - in their journey to an unknown destination - with their teammates tracking their every step.

"What if this is that thing that activated yesterday?" Cole mused.

"The Angel subroutine?" Nya corrected.

Upon mention of the subroutine, Pixal and Zane split up and went off in opposite directions. This was so unexpected that the ninja paused for a moment, glancing at each other in confusion.

"We'll follow Pixal, you guys follow Zane!" Nya instructed Kai and Lloyd before bolting off in Pixal's wake.

"We're on it!" Kai agreed as he and Lloyd went after Zane.

"Come on, let's go." Jay swatted at Cole's shoulder.

Although she had diverted from her husband's side, Pixal continued to hack and blast her way through the rampant plant life, levelling everything before her with tremendous accuracy. Nya, while staying a safe distance away from Pixal's weapons, was determined to find out what was going on.

"Pixal, what's happening?" She asked. "What is the Angel subroutine?"

Pixal skidded to halt and spun on her heel.

"Unauthorised persons may not access subroutine information," Pixal growled as her eyes flashed red, stomping toward Nya aggressively and forcing her to step backwards. "attempts to deactivate or interfere with the subroutine will be construed as sabotage and punished severely."

"Hey, hey, calm down," Jay stood partway between them, aiming to shield Nya from Pixal's plasma cannon, which she wielded in a threatening manner. "we just wanna know what's going on."

"Confirm your identity." Pixal glared at him.

"It's me, Jay." He said, reaching to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Confirm your identity." Pixal repeated, grabbing Jay's wrist before he could touch her.

"Maybe she wants your official title," Cole suggested. "like they did at the gala."

"Confirm your identity, or you will be considered an enemy and dealt with accordingly." Pixal warned as she began to twist his arm.

"Jay, son of the Elemental Master of Lightning!" He frantically repeated the words used when he was first introduced at the New Year's Eve party. Pixal ceased her physical assault and released his arm from her grip.

"Analysing biometrics… Vocal pattern recognised, identity confirmed," Pixal stated, as her eyes returned to their usual green and her furious expression became neutral – though her weapons remained active. "detailed subroutine information available."

"What is it? What does it do?" Jay asked.

"The Angel subroutine is a signal emitted by one of two parties, designed to ensure the protection of said parties," She explained. "once enacted, it cannot be revoked."

"But why are you and Zane doing this?" Jay probed further.

"A false signal was detected," Pixal replied. "and a failsafe protocol came into effect; we must find the origin of the signal and destroy it."

"We? You mean you and Zane, right? But why?"

"The Angel subroutine exists for protection purposes, a false signal indicates an attempt to hack into the dual-connected subconscious of both parties," Pixal elaborated further. "such a thing is tantamount to a declaration of war, and cannot go unchallenged."

"What if I decided to keep asking you questions until the signal stops?"

"Impossible; the signal does not stop until the two parties are reunited, and false signals need to be deactivated manually," Pixal clarified. "if one of the two parties is delayed or prevented from pursuing the signal, secondary protocol will activate-"

She stopped mid-sentence and her eyes flashed red once more. Pixal immediately went back to what she was previously doing; running through the brush and cutting a jagged niche of destruction. Sensing that she was falling behind Zane's current pace, Pixal began running even faster. Even when she saw an aged and slowly collapsing building in her path, she paused only as long as it took her to obliterate it with her plasma cannons. She leapt over what remained of the brick structure and carried on running. The false signal was still reverberating through her circuits; it surged through her head like fire and she would do what she had to in order to shut it down…


	6. The Subroutine - Part 4

Okay, last chapter for this segment. Apologies for the delay, but between work, university, and my newest multichapter fanfic "What If", this kind of took a back seat. This is still where I will post the occasional one/two-shot, as and when they happen, but please understand that my new big project is taking precedent.

Even so, enjoy the last chapter of The Subroutine!

* * *

"Come on Zane," Lloyd pleaded. "you don't have to do this."

"Any attempts to deactivate or interfere with the subroutine will be construed as sabotage and punished severely." Zane grimaced. He dragged his ice blades along the ground as he and Kai circled each other like predators.

"All I did was ask a few questions, but if Zane wants to play it this way, I won't argue…" Kai grinned confidently, taking up his swords.

"Unauthorised persons may not access subroutine information," Zane warned, pointing one of his frozen katanas at Kai. "confirm your identity."

"Bring it, Snowball!" Kai taunted.

Zane smirked at him, and the two of them lunged forward. Lloyd watched them wildly attacking each other, blades clashing, and wondered what the hell was going on. The second they came to this island something didn't feel right; they'd been told that a team of priests had been over every inch of the island, cleansing it of evil and placing protection spells, but it still felt cursed. Zane and Pixal hadn't been themselves either; and between seeing _her_ explode and now _him_ acting completely irrational, it was just such a weird day.

"How are your blades still in one piece?" Kai demanded, still swiping at Zane with full force. "My katana are solid steel!"

"Unauthorised persons may not access subroutine information," Zane repeated as he ducked and spun low to the ground, before he blindsided Kai with an uppercut, lightly slashing his face. "however, weaponry information is freely available, and at -70 degrees, the strength of these defensive measures ranks higher than steel on the Mohs scale."

"Ice can't stand up to fire!" Kai insisted as blood trickled down his cheek. "Mohs scale or not!"

The two exchanged a few more blows, their sharp weapons connecting in a simultaneous defensive and offensive motion. Kai seemed a little _too_ happy, when he noticed the small cracks in Zane's ice swords; happiness which soon subsided as the pressure of their locked combat appeared to be fixing the damage.

"Wha-?"

"For a ninja, you are quite uneducated in elemental powers beyond your own," Zane beamed, reflecting Kai's own previous joy. "under pressure or friction-generated heat, ice is self-repairing; it can fuse back together."

As Kai paused to contemplate this newly acquired knowledge, Zane took the opportunity to control the situation, forcefully shoving Kai backwards with a hefty swipe of his weapons. Kai was so incensed at his teammate's sudden and out-of-character arrogance, that he leapt up and sliced at him as though he were an enemy. Kai had never seen Zane this way before – so full of himself and superior in his abilities – it was more than he could take, and he decided that the ice ninja needed cutting down a peg or two. Zane expertly swept Kai's leg, knocking him down and sitting on him before he had a chance to get up. He thrust his frozen katana into the ground around Kai's neck and broke them off from his hands. Thick clusters of ice swallowed Kai's wrists and hands as Zane straddled him confidently. He leaned down and whispered into the fire ninja's ear.

"You cannot stop me…" Zane murmured.

He lingered by Kai's face a little longer. An unsettling chuckle echoed out from his throat, and a sinister grin crept onto his lips as he licked the blood that had trailed down Kai's neck from the cut on his cheek. Zane then leapt to his feet and shot off into the brush, leaving Kai and Lloyd utterly stunned.

"What the hell was that about?" Kai asked, his face red with awkwardness as he deftly melted the frosty restraints.

* * *

"This is more like it!" Tony chuckled, watching the live drone footage playing on his tablet. "Those two are like a man-made tornado!"

He excitedly watched the two droids like a kid watching his favourite movies, secretly wishing he'd brought some snacks for this amazing show. The scenes of annihilation were delicious, though he did feel bad that such a beautiful forest was being decapitated for the sake of his experiment. However, he soon noticed something unusual; although Zane and Pixal had split up at one point, they were on course to regroup eventually. Curious, Tony decided to plot the course they were on, and quickly came to an unfortunate conclusion.

But he wasn't quick enough.

Zane appeared to his left, Pixal appeared to his right, and both looked enraged. Before he even had a chance to run for it, Tony found himself being tackled by both droids, as they slammed into him with such ferocity that he fell to the floor, dazed and confused. Zane grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him up onto his feet, while Pixal thrust her plasma cannon against his chest. Tony spluttered at the pressure of the cold metal on his person.

"You, purveyor of the false signal; how _dare_ you take advantage of a program designed for altruistic purposes?" Pixal growled viciously.

"We should show mercy," Zane coldly insisted, roughly grabbing Tony's arm and twisting it slightly. "after all, he is but a mere human."

"He exploited our inherent desire to _protect_ each other," Pixal argued, pushing her blade up to Tony's throat. "such a violation is worthy of _punishment_…"

"I meant nothing by it, I swear!" Tony pleaded. "I just wanted to see what you were capable of!"

"You could have _asked_; instead, you abused a vital defensive function that exists between two connected parties," Pixal furiously shoved her cannon up to Tony's cheek. "now you must suffer the _consequences_…"

"We _could_ put him out of his misery, and please only ourselves, or we could just provide a _little_ misery…" Zane continued to push for the humane route, but furiously dug his hand into Tony's neck. "…and let karma do the rest."

Pixal kept her weaponry pressed against the person who violated their personal algorithm, growling and snarling, until her husband's stern and stoic expression convinced her to concede. Zane's logic was flawless, and she acquiesced to it willingly. Regardless, she heaved a long sigh and stepped back; her weapons now draped at her side. Zane yanked on Tony's other arm and froze the rogue's hands together to restrain him.

"You are right," She agreed. "we will report him to my father and honour his judgement."

They soon became aware of the sound of footsteps and wheels tearing through the sand, getting closer and closer. Soon, Mr Borg, Shiro and Sensei Wu appeared to their right, followed swiftly by the ninja, and the nearby deckhand, who all came worryingly close to colliding into one another.

"Blackguard! Betrayer! Viper in my bosom!" Mr Borg gasped, as he saw who had been captured.

"Sir, I swear this isn't what you think!" Tony begged.

"Woah, woah," Lloyd held up his hands. "what's going on here?"

"I'm truly sorry, I'm afraid I have deceived you all," Mr Borg confessed. "this entire training exercise was a trap designed to weed out a traitor."

"But, wait, I thought we only came to this island because the virtual reality simulator had broken?" Kai wondered, confused.

"It was also dangerously incompatible with Zane's software." Jay added.

"Again, I must confess; the simulator was designed to fail, in fact, it was designed to activate the Angel subroutine," Mr Borg sighed, turning to Jay with an apologetic smile. "I am sorry for any guilt we may have caused, but it was not you that blew up the machine."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Jay nodded forgivingly. "thanks."

"I knew there was a mole hidden among my loyal staff," Mr Borg stated. "I have been accumulating circumstantial evidence for some time; all I needed was concrete proof that Tony was accessing things beyond his authorisation level and deliberately causing trouble."

"I told you he couldn't be trusted," said Shiro, who hovered nearby. "that's why I've been recording any activity on that tablet of his and backing it up on two separate cloud storage systems."

"That's a violation of my privacy!" Tony barked at Shiro.

"And hacking into Zane and Pixal isn't a violation of _their_ privacy?" She snapped back.

"How did you know that he would take the bait?" Cole asked.

"Because he's two-faced and a braggart, and I knew he could not resist tampering with things he very clearly should _not_." Shiro stared Tony down, glaring darkly at him.

"You dare to insult me, when you left us to do all the hard work?" Tony shouted. "You and that… _harlot_… you don't deserve this job!"

"Enough!" Pixal shrieked.

Infuriated, she raised her cannon and nonchalantly aimed it at Tony's head, to the horror of all present.

"Pixal, don't!" Nya yelled.

Pixal refused to stand for it any longer; this person had manipulated Zane and herself, misused a vital protection system, and now he was speaking ill of someone she held dear. Zane was all too aware of the anger she felt. He had encountered this fury mere moments ago, and – despite his own rage and disgust at the actions of this individual – was prepared to negate Pixal's homicidal instincts as he had before.

"Insolent cur! I should sever your head clean from your shoulders!" Pixal seethed at Tony, her wide malicious grin seeping with righteous anger. "Give me one good reason not to!"

"Pixal, we discussed this," Zane intervened, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. "please, calm yourself."

"No, Zane!" She slapped his hand away. "How can you tell me to be calm, after what this foul creature did to us? You show far too little concern for how we were _both_ dishonoured!"

"Believe me, after such a disturbing level of disregard for our safety and bodily autonomy, I would love nothing more than to see his head _roll_…" Zane seemingly agreed, unsheathing one of his blades and pressing it to Tony's neck. "But somehow, I think whatever punishment he gets will not be enough to satisfy either of us; a moment of pain, and he no longer lives to manipulate another person? A longer period of suffering, where he must face the consequences of this violation of trust, day after day? Be honest, Pixal, it will never be enough, so why taint ourselves in the process?"

Zane placed his free hand on her cheek and tilted his head ever so slightly, his fierce red eyes betrayed by the softness of the empathetic look he gave her. Pixal lingered for a moment, before she ultimately relented, removing her fully charged plasma cannon from Tony's vulnerable face. With a dissatisfied sigh, she instead blew up the tablet which was emitting the false signal. With the source of the signal destroyed, Pixal and Zane were immediately released from the Angel subroutine. Their eyes returned to their original colours, all weapons and armour retracted as quickly as they had appeared, and their once serious, aggressive expressions melted into warm smiles; as if the Angel subroutine had never activated at all. As the young man's arms were defrosted by Kai and proper restraints were placed on him, Jay heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"I thought for sure we were gonna witness a massacre just now!" He declared.

"Pixal, are you okay?" Nya asked, cautiously reaching out to touch her.

"I'm fine, thank you." Pixal beamed sweetly and tilted her head. "Why do you ask?"

"Seriously?" Nya's shoulders dropped as a confused look took over her face. "Don't you remember any of what just happened?"

"Of course," Pixal replied. "and despite the unexpected _complications_, I am glad we were able to assist in my father's investigations."

"My apologies again for not being upfront with you all about this," Mr Borg expressed his regret once more. "there was no easy way to tell you without risking it reaching his ears also."

"It's okay, we understand why you did it." Lloyd nodded.

"Why am I punished for my secrecy, while he gets forgiveness?" Tony argued.

Without a word, Zane put his hand over Tony's mouth and created a layer of ice to prevent him from speaking.

"Do not tempt me into doing something I will regret," He warned. "Mr Borg was trying to protect his company and his team; while _you_ merely wanted something fun to watch because you were _bored_."

Zane gestured to the camera-wielding drones that were still hovering nearby. Tony lowered his head in shame, unable to attempt some feeble excuse for his actions due to the ice mask forcibly placed on him.

"Consider yourself lucky that the Angel subroutine did not strip me of my compassion, even for parasites like you." Zane frowned at him.

"Woah, harsh." Cole winced, having never heard Zane use that sort of wording before.

"Come on, fancy boy." The greying deckhand growled as he hauled the young man away.

"What's gonna happen to him?" Kai wondered, turning to Mr Borg with curiosity on his face.

"I'm no legal expert, but let's see…" Shiro butted in. "he's looking at 6 weeks in prison for confidential information breach, at least 12 months for two counts of invasion of privacy, and we know he's gonna get fired, for sure."

"So… I guess this means the exercise is over?" Cole mentioned somewhat hopefully.

"The traitor is now exposed," Mr Borg sighed with relief. "I can breathe easy, and so can all of you."

"You seem really happy that this is finished," Jay said to Cole with a smirk. "I take it you made plans with a certain someone…"

"Mind your own business." Cole laughed, prodding Jay in his ticklish side.


End file.
